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Rooting for an “Open” Amelie Mauresmo…

With the U.S. Open underway, I just gotta write a bit about a player I think the world of: Amelie Mauresmo. She is not only the number one player in the world and the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, she has been openly gay since she joined the women’s tour in the late 1990s. She was never a player anyone had to wonder about or gossip about, she owned who she is right from the beginning.

While I know it was far tougher on Martina Navratilova to be an out-and-proud lesbian when she ruled the sport in the 1980s, Mauresmo took some garbage for it as well. When, at the age of 19, she upset Lindsay Davenport and a host of others to reach the final of the 1999 Australian Open, then top-ranked Martina Hingis said to the press that Mauresmo was like “half a man” because of her muscular body and because she brought her girlfriend Down Under with her. Amelie lost that final to Hingis, unfortunately, but it was Hingis’ last major title to date.

That was pretty crummy but Mauresmo didn’t make a big deal out of it, she just played. As the top player in France, she often crumbled under the pressure of a nation’s fervent hopes but she has been in the top five most of the last six or seven years, winning many titles including the prestigious year-end championships last November at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lucky me was in the third row for her semifinal match and I could just watch that beauitful backhand and graceful game all day.

In closing, I am thrilled to have a lesbian as the number one player again and even more proud that it’s someone who is well-spoken, thoughtful and articulate in interviews and also a terrific sportswoman. She won her first round match at the Open on Wednesday in straight sets and it would be wonderful to see her hoist the winners trophy less than two weeks from now.